News
 Travel
 Hotels
 Tickets
 Living
 Immigration
 Forum

Australia tightens visas for major investment immigrants in 188C, the rich in China are rich and can't be willful.

 
[Business Migration]     23 Apr 2018
In the first seven months of the fiscal year, fewer than 100 major investment immigration visas were issued.

In the first seven months of the fiscal year, fewer than 100 major investment immigration visas were issued.

Australia's controversial major investment visa, (Significant Investor Visa, or SIV), is largely targeted at Chinese investors investing more than A $5 million in Australia, the Guardian reported. But these days, the so-called "gold ticket (Golden Ticket)" visa is increasingly being snubbed by rich-class immigrants, with government visa issuance hitting a new low.

The 2016 report of the Productivity Commission recommended the cancellation of the visa scheme, saying it would be of little benefit to Australia because it was prone to problems such as fraud and money-laundering. Because there is no requirement for English and age limits for visa holders, they may benefit less to Australia than other immigrants.

A major investment immigrant applicant from China has been defrauded, according to documents from the Kunzhou High Court. (Fusheng Li, a Chinese investor, filed a lawsuit last year against Monsol (Sebastian Monsour), a Kunzhou businessman and brother-in-law of the former governor, accusing him of using a visa program to defraud A $5 million. Li said he planned to emigrate to Australia with his family at the time, so he invested A $5 million in Monsol's company through a major investment immigration visa program. But Monsol did not invest the money in investment projects that met SIV visa requirements.

"it is difficult to determine the source of money and wealth for major investment visa clients, as this wealth is usually earned within foreign jurisdictions," the (Austrac) 2016 report of the Australian transaction reporting and Analysis Unit, a financial intelligence agency, also said.

It is understood that major investment visas are open to all nationalities, but mainly targeted at Chinese investors. The visa number is "888" and is meant to attract interest from Chinese immigrants. In Chinese culture, "8" is a lucky number. Since the Gillard (Julia Gillard) government launched the visa program in 2012, about 87% of the recipients have come from China.

Under visa rules, applicants who invest in Australia's eligible investments of not less than A $5 million are allowed a temporary visa for a period of four years, which can be converted to a permanent residence visa upon expiry.

In the first three years of the program, nearly 900 major investment visas were granted, or an average of 28 per month. But because of concerns about the source of funding and the type of investment in Australia, Albert (Tony Abbott) 's government has introduced a series of restrictions since July 2015, requiring investors to invest in Australian venture capital (venture capital) or start-up companies. It is no longer allowed to buy government bonds.

Although the number of visas granted rose to an average of 46 per month in fiscal year 2015 / 16, the rate of visa approvals slowed significantly to an average of 34 per month in fiscal year 2016 / 17.

In the first seven months of the fiscal year, the number of major investment immigration visas issued continued to decline, with the total number of approved visas falling to less than 100, from a mere 13 per month.

Many immigration agents told the Guardian that stricter new regulations significantly reduced the need to apply for major investment immigration visas. A spokesman for the Ministry of the Interior's (Department of Home Affairs) said the visa program had not been adjusted since 2015, but that the SIV visa was linked to other businesses on the recommendation of the Joint standing Committee on Immigration (Joint Standing Committee on Migration). Investment and talent visas are currently under review.

The spokesman also said that SIV visa applicants must comply with Australia's safety and conduct requirements and that the source of funding for applicants has been subject to rigorous scrutiny.

Post a comment